Rangers' future is black and Whyte

[ian1964 10,761]

By jim Traynor on Mar 14, 11 08:37 AM in

ALLY McCOIST will fight his two-match touchline ban but he should accept the punishment. He'll need all his reserves of energy and will for more important struggles which lie ahead.

 

Depending on what happens over the next two to three weeks he will be taking over as manager of a club about to be revitalised or one sliding deeper into decline.

 

And many are convinced it will be the latter.

 

With the passing of every week Rangers fans lose hope that their club will be bought over and dragged out of debt.

 

They look at the paucity of Walter Smith's squad and they must feel like weeping.

 

Lloyds Bank, on the other hand, are delighted. Rangers' debt continues to fall and the next set of figures, which are about to be released, will show the Ibrox club now owe less than �£20million.

 

No doubt someone at the bank will take pride in a job well done and it shouldn't surprise anyone if that person is in line for a whopping bonus.

 

After all, that's what the banks do isn't it? They reward themselves for squeezing and destroying hard-working ordinary Joes even though it was their greed and stupidity that pushed the country towards financial ruin. And then they grab our tax money to get them out of the mess.

 

It's instead of being forced back to school to do their sums again they grow fatter and richer by refusing to lend any of the cash back to people trying to buy or hold on to their homes and businesses.

 

And of course the less they lend out the more for them to share in bonus payments which would be enough to keep loads of little companies and households going.

 

They slap one another on the back, oblivious to the damage they cause. However, they are themselves insolvent. They are morally bankrupt.

 

No doubt Lloyds will credit themselves for reducing Rangers' debt but there is nothing sharp, or even intelligent, in putting in place a repayment plan that is making it increasingly difficult for Rangers to remain competitive.

 

While the Ibrox balance sheet is looking much better you have to ask at what cost has this been achieved? The answer won't be clear until the end of this season but it does look as though Rangers don't have enough players to handle the run-in.

 

It's also fairly obvious they can't cope with Neil Lennon's Celtic, who have won three and drawn one of the five Old Firm clashes so far this season.

 

Of course if Rangers were to win the remaining two Old Firm matches everything would look so much brighter but the problems caused by constant wage cuts to keep the bank satisfied would remain.

 

They were there when Smith steered Rangers to back-to-back titles and a glance at any of his team sheets this season proves the problems are even worse now.

 

No matter what Rangers do on the pitch between now and the end of the season McCoist will be inheriting a squad lacking in genuine quality and experience.

 

And he will have to give serious thought to selling one of his few assets, Allan McGregor, to fund moves for a couple of players simply to increase numbers. His task will be practically impossible and his only real hope is Craig Whyte who is still waiting in the wings.

 

However, he won't wait much longer. Time is running out and if Whyte hasn't been given the go ahead by the end of this month don't be surprised if he closes his cheque book, puts it back in his pocket and walks away.

 

Several vague deadlines have come and gone but Whyte is smart enough to realise that buying Rangers solves only half a problem.

 

The other half involves rebuilding a squad and Whyte, I suspect, doesn't want to leave that part to the last minute. He knows clubs and managers are already working on the ins and outs of transfer deals for next season and he would want to give McCoist as much time as possible to improve his squad. But nothing can be done until Whyte's offer has been accepted.

 

If it isn't - Rangers' standards will continue to fall.

 

Whyte's �£33m bid to take the club off David Murray's hands and out of the bank's control, and his promise to spend �£5m on players each season for the first five years of his tenure appears to tick the relevant boxes. But still McCoist and Rangers wait.

 

Of course, there is the potential tax liability should Rangers lose their court battle with the taxman but it is understood some kind of arrangement has been put in place to deal with that as well. But still Rangers fans wait.

 

Now they have to ask why.

 

After all, Whyte has provided proof of funding and Murray, who said he would never sell to anyone who couldn't support the club financially, appears convinced by the Scottish financier and it's understood he's prepared to do the deal. So why the hold up?

 

Who might be stalling? Are Rangers being used as a pawn in a wider game? Is the bank playing hard ball? If so, why? Someone at Lloyds could probably provide the answers but because of market rules and the cloaks of confidentiality bankers wrap around themselves there is only silence.

 

Rangers have cut back to the bare minimum to repay their debt and there is an offer on the table which would rid the bank of the headache, yet nothing continues to happen.

 

If Whyte is ready to get going and help finance McCoist's rebuilding programme but finds he is being blocked then he should say so.

 

Rangers fans are entitled to know why this deal hasn't been concluded.

 

They deserve to know who is holding up progress and why.

 

But they should also be aware that the Whyte saga is nearing its end.

 

The next few weeks will make or break his ambition to own Rangers. That also means the next few weeks could make or break Rangers.

[Stefanovitch 0]

Now that the mid March deadline is looming we get another story from a "respected" journalist indicating another few weeks.

 

It's difficult to stay positive about this takeover story as there are no facts in the open and a lot of opinion. I guess the silence from Whyte suggests he's still interested but the longer it drags on the less likely and more damaging it becomes.

[ian1964 10,761]

If Murray has agreed to sell to Whyte and the tax issue has been solved then the question of why has the take over not happened yet is kind of worrying for me

[Frankie 8,665]

It's a fair article from Traynor as it does ask a few difficult questions. But it doesn't ask them hard enough.

[Stefanovitch 0]

He may pose questions but no-one is obliged to answer them.

[Frankie 8,665]

He may pose questions but no-one is obliged to answer them.

 

Absolutely - but our support could pressurise.

 

Unfortunately, that is about as likely as the home crowd singing a few songs or our manager attacking opposition teams.

[ian1964 10,761]

Absolutely - but our support could pressurise.

Unfortunately, that is about as likely as the home crowd singing a few songs or our manager attacking opposition teams.

 

There's more chance of getting the take over answers:whistle:

[ian1964 10,761]

Is it close to season ticket sale time?????

[ian1964 10,761]

How can the bank have anything to do with who owns the club?,what does it matter to them if a take over happens?,whoever owns the club will still have x amount of debt to pay to the bank.

 

 

 

 

 

 

COPS ON THE STREETS,NOT IN THE STANDS.

Edited March 14, 2011 by ian1964

[Waltersgotstyle 307]

Round and round the mulberry bush...